Cessna O-1G Bird Dog The O-1G was a two-place observation and liaison aircraft developed from the commercial Cessna Model 170 in 1949. Originally designated L-19s, Bird Dogs were used by the U.S. Air Force, Army and Marine Corps for such tasks as artillery spotting, front-line communications, medical evacuation and pilot training. In Southeast Asia, the O-1s became a USAF forward air control aircraft. A forward air controller (FAC), often an experienced fighter pilot, flew in a specific geograph

The Cessna L-19/O-1 Bird Dog is a military liaison and observation aircraft developed from a range of Cessna light aircraft. The “O1” was extensively flown throughout the Vietnam war. Many Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) pilots flew these aircraft on exchange with the US Air Force in Vietnam. The aircraft on display at Hunter Warbirds was built in 1950 for the United States Air Force. She is one of a number of Bird Dogs recovered from South East Asia in 1989 by Col Pay. It was placed on the Au

#OTD in 1975, South Vietnamese Air Force Major Buang-Ly stole a Cessna O-1 Bird Dog and landed on USS Midway with his wife and 5 children to escape North Vietnamese forces. Buang made several passes over the carrier to drop notes asking for the crowded deck to be cleared. The Midway's CO Captain Lawrence Chambers ordered $10 million worth of helicopters that had been used to to carry evacuees from Saigon to be pushed overboard so that Buang could land. | U.S. Naval Institute

6.9K views · 474 reactions | In late 1966 the U.S. Air Force selected...